I'd like to reclaim that youthful enthusiasm and idealism, but that we do not always do so is not the fault of history or that disturbed assassin.

To the Editor:

The recent reflections in letters to the editor on John F. Kennedy's assassination express apocalyptic notions of these "last days" since the tragedy of 50 years ago. While a loose sense of history or an inflated importance of the baby-boomer era (of which I am also a member) may lead us to think that the nation turned completely on its head after that awful day and that it was harbinger for all our subsequent social ills, I believe that such a "Kennedy-centrism" is unfounded.

Certainly my entire generation -- and perhaps for those with Catholic roots in particular -- definitely felt that great bubble of hope burst that we have sadly never quite experienced again. Yet it seems both historically confused and overly pessimistic to attribute so many of our present problems to that horrendous event. That it changed America and our own psyches forever is agreed, but we can no more blame our current social and political woes on it as if it were the cosmic meteor that changed the climate of our culture and lives. That lets all of us off the hook far too easily.

If there is less idealism, I believe it is because we of that generation have sometimes despaired of doing the hard work to which our youthful idealism initially attracted us when our societal transformation seemed on the horizon. If there are now appear to be greater social stratifications and venality, it is more because we have abdicated our responsibilities for that daily civic engagement and the tedium of both consensus building and community development. If there is more surliness and greater hostility in the press and in our discourse, it may be because we do not take the time to ground ourselves in some broadly humanistic or spiritual practices that can calm our consumerist spirits, enable us to place ourselves in perspective, and help suppress our quickness to accentuate what separates rather than what unites us.

As nearly every other American, I would have have wished JFK had lived into a second term and had a chance to continue to lead us into a "new frontier." What he evoked in that classic challenge of "Ask not..." and the communal promise to "bear any burden..." inspired so many to believe we had more to offer, more to do, more to be! I'd like to reclaim that youthful enthusiasm and idealism, but that we do not always do so is not the fault of history or that disturbed assassin. The responsibility is mine. And yours. And ours.